Community Tasting Note
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NPWolfe wrote: 86 points
February 18, 2009 - H. L. Mencken was certainly prolific enough that I should have read something by him and well respected enough that I could have read one of the many books about him. However, I know Mencken only by reputation and the liberal use of quotes from his works. In a recent edition of the New York Times the following quote was used to illustrate a point, “criticism is prejudice made plausible”. This pithy perspective is used enough that a Google search turns up dozens of entries. As with Mencken himself, this quote has more than one interpretation. First, it could mean we are all bigots and criticism no matter persuasively stated still stands as bigotry. Given Mencken’s role as a critic I doubt he would define his work so narrowly. A broader interpretation would be that if your criticism is not accurate in content, moral in nature, and logical in interpretation then you have just fallen back on unexamined prejudice. Since I would prefer to think of myself as a wine reviewer rather than a wine bigot, I am going to use the latter interpretation.
For me, one of the best attributes of Cellartracker is the multiple reviews of each wine. What it has allowed me to realize is how much bottle variation exists. I don’t think this bottle was quit as good as the others reviewed and I don’t think that it is because I am a harsher reviewer. The bottle just seemed different. Opened for one hour before serving. Served slightly warmer than I prefer; room temperature was about 70 degrees and I had no way to keep the bottle cooler. At this temperature the wine was slightly alcoholic on the nose. The wine was not as visually extracted with color as I expected. Mainly red without the purple hues other reviews mentioned. Blackberry, clove, and vanilla in the nose. Tasty but simple flavors of blackberry, clove, and oak. Medium bodied. Flavor, acid, and tannin well positioned. Finish concentrated solely in the front of the palate with drying astringency. Finished disappeared in the back of the palate. Enjoyable, but not what I was expecting.5,080 views